Anxiety in Strange, New Places

By Josie Alford

In our interview with Rocco English, we were surprised when Rocco described how he would be more comfortable speaking Brazilian-Portuguese with his friends, than with strangers that he met on random occurrences in Brazil. In terms of anxiety, we were interested in learning how Rocco handled the pressures of anxiety in new, strange places. If you are interested in learning more, continue reading.

Image courtesy of Rocco English

In Rocco English’s interview, he recounts his experiences of acquiring Brazilian-Portuguese while attending tennis camp in Brazil. Rocco describes how he wouldn’t be able to effectively articulate his verbal expressions in social situations when Brazilian-Portuguese was spoken. In addition, he describes that when around people he was unfamiliar with, he would become particularity uncomfortable with engaging in communication in Portuguese, causing him to experience anxiety. Being a native English speaker and having only been exposed to the Spanish language in the classroom, Rocco found that in order to feel comfortable in speaking the language, he had to be accompanied by either his tennis coach or his friends from the tennis camp. Without the structure of familiar people around him, Rocco found himself uneasy when speaking Portuguese to native Brazilian people. Rocco also notes that when he made mistakes while speaking Portuguese, he would feel embarrassment and additional anxiety. Through these initial experiences of speaking Portuguese, Rocco explains that the anxiety influenced his ability to acquire the language, discouraging him from having the motivation to continue learning. Through analyzing Rocco’s experience with Portuguese, one can better understand how the effects that his anxiety had upon his ability to speak the language.

Image courtesy of Rocco English

The behavior that Rocco exhibited while speaking Portuguese can be described by the psychological term, foreign language anxiety, which is defined by the source, “Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety”. Foreign language anxiety is a form of anxiety in which an individual experiences a feeling of uneasiness, nervousness, pressure, or dread in acquiring a second language in any environment (126). This definition of foreign language anxiety accurately describes the experience that Rocco had while speaking Portuguese. Rocco recalls that he would feel uncomfortable, or uneasy, around others he didn’t know in the fear that he would make a mistake, therefore becoming anxious. “Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety” also suggests that foreign language anxiety greatly affects speaking skills in the target language. The source notes that the inability to effectively communicate in the language is a key effect of foreign language anxiety. Rocco’s experience illustrates this point because Rocco found that he was unable to communicate effectively in the language, causing anxiety. He found difficulty in forming sentences and he also found that he was unable to articulate jokes. Rocco found this particularly troubling due to the fact that enjoys being a comic, causing him to become unmotivated to continue learning the language.

Image courtesy of Rocco English

The source explains that many individuals experience communication apprehension, which is described as a facet of foreign language anxiety that involves an individual experiencing shyness due to a “fear” of orally communicating in the target language with others, particularly those an individual is unfamiliar with. This point explains the fact that Rocco felt more comfortable around his friends at the tennis camp and his tennis coach, than strangers. Though “Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety” effectively denotes the effect that anxiety has upon second language achievement, it does not account for the fact that an individual can become more confident in a language, therefore experiencing less to no anxiety when communicating in the target language. Rocco recounts how later on in his experience, he became more and more comfortable around people when speaking Portuguese. He notes that while initially he was anxious while speaking Portuguese, he became more motivated to learn the language because his friends gave him positive encouragement. Today, Rocco is a thriving student and still has interest in developing his language skills with Portuguese.